In 1986, the American Language Academy published the Dictionary of Simplified American Spelling, a book written by Rondthaler and Edward Lias. It calls for the improvement of English spelling, with clearer rules and better grapheme/phoneme correspondence. Its guidelines are less strictly phonemic than Classic New Spelling. For example, the sounds /θ/ and /ð/ are represented by the grapheme ⟨th⟩ in order to follow traditional spelling. Classic New Spelling opts instead for ⟨th⟩ and ⟨dh⟩, respectively.
The system was further reformed from 1987 on and became SoundSpel.
Description
Phonetics
Spellings here are matched to their sounds using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). SoundSpel examples are accompanied by traditional spellings in italics if different. Note that writings in SoundSpel may not follow these tables exactly due to their time of writing or the author's personal preferences. These tables also do not account for proper nouns (which are discussed under "Exceptions").
SoundSpel has changed slightly over time. Listed below are generally the most recent guidelines. Obsolete or optional rules are also listed. Furthermore, the system is not a fait accompli. The Dictionary of Simplified American Spelling reads: "[F]urther fine tuning [of SoundSpel] is [now] appropriate. Recommendations are welcome from all—phoneticians, linguists, educators, publishers, those with a special interest in the subject, and, very importantly, the public at large."[24]
False diphthongs
If a pair of vowel letters do not match a SoundSpel digraph—such as ea—then the syllable ends with the first vowel (as in react, read as 're-act'), jeenius ('genius'), and creaetiv ('creative'). With three or more vowel letters, the syllable ends with the first digraph. For example: flooid ('fluid', read as "floo-id"), hieest ('highest'), and inueendo ('innuendo').[8]
Hyphens and syllable breaks
Hyphens separate adjacent letters that can be mistaken for digraphs. Examples include ⟨nk⟩ in ''man-kiend ('mankind'), ⟨th⟩ in pent-hous ('penthouse'), and ⟨wh⟩ in cow-hand ('cowhand'). Where ⟨n-g⟩ would be visually awkward, ⟨nn⟩ marks the end of the syllable, as in enngaej ('engage') and enngraev ('engrave'). Hyphens also indicate when ⟨y⟩ is a consonant beginning a syllable (such as in barn-yard) rather than a vowel ending a syllable (as in handyman or apreeshyaet, 'appreciate'), as the latter is much more common. Where ⟨-y⟩ would be visually awkward, a double consonant marks the end of the syllable (as in millyon for 'million' and compannyon for 'companion'). Beyond these examples and those double consonants following /ɔː/ (like in fall and cross), all double consonants surround a syllable break. Examples include meelles ('mealless'), buukkeeper ('bookkeeper'), and cattael ('cattail').[22] Additionally, double consonants often represent geminates.
Following a prefix, a hyphen indicates that a vowel is long (co-ed, re-arm, bi-lateral). Any adjacent preceding vowel is also long (bio-, neo-). Compare jeo-sentrik ('geocentric') and jeolojy ('geology').
Schwa and schwi
The spelling of /ə/ (schwa) in unstressedsyllables remains unchanged (as in organ, novel, and lemon) unless traditional spelling would suggest a mispronunciation (hence 'mountain' is spelled mounten).[8]
To represent schwi (variably described as /ɪ/ or /i/), there are three rules. First, ⟨e⟩ is used in a word's first syllable (event; eqip for 'equip'). Second, ⟨i⟩ is followed by a schwa in the combinations ⟨ia⟩, ⟨io⟩, and ⟨iu⟩ (insomnia; joevial for 'jovial'). Third, ⟨y⟩ is used terminally, or medially when not followed by schwa ⟨a⟩, ⟨o⟩, or ⟨u⟩ (raedyo for 'radio', joevyality for 'joviality'). Using ⟨y⟩ terminally in monosyllabic words such as bee and see (instead of ⟨ee⟩) and their derivatives is discouraged.[12] The letter ⟨y⟩ is also used to prevent ambiguity, such as in terryer ('terrier') and audyens ('audience'), in which ⟨ie⟩ would otherwise represent /aɪ/.[25]
Unstressed ⟨er⟩, ⟨ar⟩, and ⟨or⟩ ("schwer")
SoundSpel retains the spellings of schwers (a portmanteau of schwa and ⟨er⟩). In other words, though /ɑːr/ (⟨ar⟩) and /ɔːr/ (⟨or⟩) may reduce to /ər/ (⟨er⟩) in rapid speech, they keep their original spelling. This is for two reasons. First, the reform's "immediate goal... is to reflect a word's full pronunciation", and second, these words' derivatives often contain the syllable's stressed equivalent (as in victor and victorious), so keeping the old spelling is useful for maintaining aesthetic relationships.[26]
Exceptions
Irregular spellings
as, be, do, has, he, his, she, me, we, is, of, th(e) (the), thru (through), to, U (you), and derived terms (e.g., being and together) [27][1] / -ful[1] / most proper nouns[1]
Capitalization and proper nouns
The word I, like in traditional spelling, remains capitalized. The word U, a respelling of you, is also capitalized. As Edward Rondthaler wrote: "Since we accept the flattery of capital I for 'me', let us extend the courtesy of capital U for 'you'."[1][25] In SoundSpel's 1978 form, however, neither I nor U were capitalized.[10]
SoundSpel retains the spellings of proper nouns to the extent that these are the names of living people, functional institutions, government agencies, brand names, and so on. If both the visual recognition of a name and its correct pronunciation are important, the latter will be given in SoundSpel but in square brackets [ ]. Foreign words that are too awkward to be converted to SoundSpel are represented in italics. Otherwise, most well known proper nouns may be written in SoundSpel. Naturally, SoundSpel dictionaries may use SoundSpel to indicate an irregular proper noun's pronunciation,[28] and months and days of the week may also be respelled.[1]
Pluralization
Neither the plural suffix ⟨-s⟩ (as in jobs), the possessive suffix ⟨-'s⟩ (as in man's), nor the third-person present singular verb suffix ⟨-s⟩ (as in he runs) are changed, even though in all these cases the ⟨s⟩ may be pronounced /z/ at times.[8] A doubled ⟨ss⟩ is used to distinguish words when necessary, as in caes ('cays', /keɪz/) versus caess ('case', /keɪs/). This exception is a break from the Dictionary of Simplified American Spelling, in which plurals were spelled on a strictly phonetic basis (caez and caes respectively).[29] The letter ⟨x⟩ does not form the plurals of words ending with a /k/ sound; for example, the plural of dok ('dock') is not dox, but doks. This follows (formal) traditional spelling.
Features
Does not introduce any symbols foreign to English like diacritics or ligatures. Relies upon common, familiar digraphs except for ⟨aa⟩, ⟨uu⟩, and ⟨zh⟩.
Does not dramatically change the appearance of existing words (i.e., through the use of non-Latin letters), and generally decreases text length by about 4%.[8] SoundSpel also promotes more precise pronunciation in speech.
Removes many doubled letters made redundant under the reform, and has virtually no silent letters.
Generally not intended to differentiate homophones, as "context takes care of everything [in speech, and therefore writing]."[30] However, as writing is matched with speech, many homographs differentiate, such as 'read', which becomes reed (present tense) and red (past tense).
Improves consistency of writing, thereby reducing learning time and reading difficulties compared to traditional English spelling. However, compromises and rule exceptions make SoundSpel more difficult than it would be if it were a purely phonemic system.
Text examples
Note that any given example may not exactly follow this article's guidelines due to its time of writing, the author's personal preferences, or the author's (eye) dialect.
It was on th furst dae of th nue yeer th anounsment was maed, aulmoest siemultaeniusly frum three obzervatorys, that th moeshon of th planet Neptune, th outermoest of all planets that wheel about th Sun, had becum verry erratic. A retardaeshon in its velosity had bin suspected in Desember. Then, a faent, remoet spek of liet was discuverd in th reejon of th perterbd planet. At furst, this did not cauz eny verry graet exsietment. Sieentific peepl, however, found th intelijens remarkabl enuf, eeven befor it becaem noen that th nue body was rapidly groeing larjer and brieter, and that its moeshon was qiet different frum th orderly progres of th planets. [657 characters]
(It was on the first day of the new year the announcement was made, almost simultaneously from three observatories, that the motion of the planet Neptune, the outermost of all planets that wheel around the sun, had become very erratic. A retardation in its velocity had been suspected in December. Then a faint, remote speck of light was discovered in the region of the perturbed planet. At first this did not cause any very great excitement. Scientific people, however, found the intelligence remarkable enough, even before it became known that the new body was rapidly growing larger and brighter, and that its motion was quiet different from the orderly progress of the planets.) [680 characters]
We mae nowadaes be chaery about uezing th wurd 'jeenius', but we stil hav a guud iedeea whot is ment bi it. For exampl, thaer ar graet numbers of verry gifted muezishans hoo ar admierd but not cauld jeeniuses. But thaer ar uthers, manifestly prodijus, performing offen at extraordinerrily urly aejes, a varieety of feets so complex that th muezical laeman cuud hardly imajin, eeven with th moest desperat laebor, acomplishing eny of them, whiel eeven muezishans ar astonisht and we then reech for th guud, handy, vaeg Enlietenment wurd and caul them jeeniuses. Th list incloods Mozart and Mendelssohn; and, despiet all th limiting jujments, it incloods Benjamin Britten. [670 characters]
(We may nowadays be chary about using the word ‘genius’, but we still have a good idea what is meant by it. For example, there are great numbers of very gifted musicians who are admired but not called geniuses. But there are others manifestly prodigious, performing, often at extraordinarily early ages, a variety of feats so complex that the musical layman could hardly imagine, even with the most desperate labour, accomplishing any one of them, while even musicians are astonished: and we then reach for the good, handy, vague Enlightenment word and call them geniuses. The list includes Mozart and Mendelssohn; and, despite all the limiting judgments, it includes Benjamin Britten.)[31] [684 characters]
↑ ⟨a⟩, ⟨e⟩, ⟨i⟩, and ⟨o⟩ can act as "schwa vowels". See "Schwa and schwi" under "Rules".
1 2 3 /ɔː/ is usually spelled ⟨au⟩ or ⟨aw⟩ but can be spelled ⟨a⟩ before ⟨ll⟩,[8] as in all (otherwise spelled aul) and most of the time before ⟨ng⟩ (strong) and ⟨th⟩ (moth).[9][10]
↑ ⟨e⟩ is sometimes used to differentiate confusing pairs (like to / toe and do / doe). Additionally, current versions of SoundSpel recommend using ⟨e⟩ to indicate stress. For example, bellow (/ˈbɛloʊ/) is spelled belo, and below (/bɛˈloʊ/) is spelled beloe.[12]
1 2 At the end of a word, /aɪ/ and /oʊ/ may be written without an ⟨e⟩, as in fli (fly) and banjo, but otherwise it is required. Hence: banjo and its plural banjoes.
1 2 ⟨ou⟩ and ⟨au⟩ always precede a consonant and never end a word or its root (oul, "owl"; aukward, "awkward"). ⟨ow⟩ and ⟨aw⟩ never begin a word (plow; flawd, "flawed"). These rules tend to mimic traditional spelling's appearance.[14]
1 2 When ⟨ar⟩ or ⟨or⟩ precede a stressed vowel (as in maroon and memorandum), the ⟨a⟩ and ⟨o⟩ are pronounced /ə/ and the ⟨r⟩ begins a new syllable.[10]
↑ In early versions of SoundSpel,[10][16] ⟨ur⟩ represents /ɜːr/ for differentiating and indicating stress in some words like convert (noun) and convurt (verb). Now, ⟨ur⟩ and ⟨er⟩ represent different sounds altogether.[17]
↑ ⟨k⟩ is used before the letters ⟨e⟩, ⟨i⟩, and ⟨y⟩ (keebord, 'keyboard'; kil, 'kill'; munky, 'monkey') and when definitively ending closed syllables (qik, 'quick'; bakpak, 'backpack'). ⟨k⟩ is also used to maintain the consistent spelling of roots when inflections and suffixes are added (qikly, 'quickly'). ⟨c⟩ is used in all other cases.[20] These rules prevent French-like pronunciations.
↑ To keep the spelling of inflected words with final syllabic consonants regular, SoundSpel retains some vowels. Whenever a schwa vowel separates a word's final consonants in traditional spelling (as in pedal) the vowel is retained (hence the inflected form pedaling). Otherwise, it is dropped (rithm, 'rhythm'; hence rithmik, 'rhythmic').[21]
↑ ⟨th⟩ can represent unvoiced/θ/ or voiced/ð/. Spelling reformers have suggested thh or dh (from edh) for the /ð/ sound, but SoundSpel reluctantly rejects both "in the interest of visual compatibility [with traditional spelling]."[22]
↑ 1986 guidelines, which have since been superseded,[8] recommend that ⟨x⟩ represent /gz/ before a vowel (exam, exult) and /ks/ otherwise (expect, fox). When a vowel follows a /ks/ pronunciation, an ⟨s⟩ is inserted after the ⟨x⟩ (axsis, 'axis'; exsodus, 'exodus') so that the rule holds.[23]
Related Research Articles
Y, or y, is the twenty-fifth and penultimate letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. According to some authorities, it is the sixth vowel letter of the English alphabet. Its name in English is wye, plural wyes.
Unless otherwise noted, statements in this article refer to Standard Finnish, which is based on the dialect spoken in the former Häme Province in central south Finland. Standard Finnish is used by professional speakers, such as reporters and news presenters on television.
In linguistics, an elision or deletion is the omission of one or more sounds in a word or phrase. However, these terms are also used to refer more narrowly to cases where two words are run together by the omission of a final sound. An example is the elision of word-final /t/ in English if it is preceded and followed by a consonant: "first light" is often pronounced "firs' light". Many other terms are used to refer to specific cases where sounds are omitted.
A phonemic orthography is an orthography in which the graphemes correspond consistently to the language's phonemes, or more generally to the language's diaphonemes. Natural languages rarely have perfectly phonemic orthographies; a high degree of grapheme–phoneme correspondence can be expected in orthographies based on alphabetic writing systems, but they differ in how complete this correspondence is. English orthography, for example, is alphabetic but highly nonphonemic.
Modern English is written with a Latin-script alphabet consisting of 26 letters, with each having both uppercase and lowercase forms. The word alphabet is a compound of alpha and beta, the names of the first two letters in the Greek alphabet. Old English was first written down using the Latin alphabet during the 7th century. During the centuries that followed, various letters entered or fell out of use. By the 16th century, the present set of 26 letters had largely stabilised:
Palauan is a Malayo-Polynesian language native to the Republic of Palau, where it is one of the two official languages, alongside English. It is widely used in day-to-day life in the country. Palauan is not closely related to other Malayo-Polynesian languages and its exact classification within the branch is unclear.
German orthography is the orthography used in writing the German language, which is largely phonemic. However, it shows many instances of spellings that are historic or analogous to other spellings rather than phonemic. The pronunciation of almost every word can be derived from its spelling once the spelling rules are known, but the opposite is not generally the case.
Cut Spelling is a system of English-language spelling reform which reduces redundant letters and makes substitutions to improve correspondence with the spoken word. It was designed by Christopher Upward and was for a time being popularized by the Simplified Spelling Society. The resulting words are 8–15% shorter than standard spellings. The name Cut Spelling was coined by psychologist Valerie Yule.
Consonant mutation is change in a consonant in a word according to its morphological or syntactic environment.
In the phonology of the Romanian language, the phoneme inventory consists of seven vowels, two or four semivowels, and twenty consonants. In addition, as with other languages, other phonemes can occur occasionally in interjections or recent borrowings.
Stress is a prominent feature of the English language, both at the level of the word (lexical stress) and at the level of the phrase or sentence (prosodic stress). Absence of stress on a syllable, or on a word in some cases, is frequently associated in English with vowel reduction – many such syllables are pronounced with a centralized vowel (schwa) or with certain other vowels that are described as being "reduced". Various contradictory phonological analyses exist for these phenomena.
In an alphabetic writing system, a silent letter is a letter that, in a particular word, does not correspond to any sound in the word's pronunciation. In linguistics, a silent letter is often symbolised with a null sign U+2205∅EMPTY SET, which resembles the Scandinavian letter Ø. A null or zero is an unpronounced or unwritten segment.
Dutch orthography uses the Latin alphabet. The spelling system is issued by government decree and is compulsory for all government documentation and educational establishments.
In English orthography, many words feature a silent ⟨e⟩, most commonly at the end of a word or morpheme. Typically it represents a vowel sound that was formerly pronounced, but became silent in late Middle English or Early Modern English.
The letter Ъ ъ of the Cyrillic script is known as er golyam in the Bulgarian alphabet, as the hard sign in the modern Russian and Rusyn alphabets, as the debelo jer in pre-reform Serbian orthography, and as ayirish belgisi in the Uzbek Cyrillic alphabet. The letter is called back yer or back jer and yor or jor in the pre-reform Russian orthography, in Old East Slavic, and in Old Church Slavonic.
Compensatory lengthening in phonology and historical linguistics is the lengthening of a vowel sound that happens upon the loss of a following consonant, usually in the syllable coda, or of a vowel in an adjacent syllable. Lengthening triggered by consonant loss may be considered an extreme form of fusion. Both types may arise from speakers' attempts to preserve a word's moraic count.
A syllabic consonant or vocalic consonant is a consonant that forms the nucleus of a syllable on its own, like the m, n and l in some pronunciations of the English words rhythm, button and awful, respectively. To represent it, the understroke diacritic in the International Phonetic Alphabet is used, ⟨U+0329◌̩COMBINING VERTICAL LINE BELOW⟩. It may be instead represented by an overstroke, ⟨U+030D◌̍COMBINING VERTICAL LINE ABOVE⟩ if the symbol that it modifies has a descender, such as in.
Benjamin Franklin's phonetic alphabet was Benjamin Franklin's proposal for a spelling reform of the English language. The alphabet was based on the Latin alphabet used in English, though with several additional letters that Franklin newly invented.
Nepali is the national language of Nepal. Besides being spoken as a mother tongue by more than 48% of the population of Nepal, it is also spoken in Bhutan and India. The language is recognized in the Nepali constitution as an official language of Nepal.
This article aims to describe the phonology and phonetics of central Luxembourgish, which is regarded as the emerging standard.
Rondthaler, Edward; Lias, Edward J. (1978). "SoundSpel: A revised orthography of the English language". New York: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
